Known in the art is a process for producing an aluminium-silicon alloy with a content of silicon of 2-22% by mass which comprises charging crystalline silicon onto a sole of a reverberatory furnace, the charged crystalline silicon has a tapered form, casting liquid aluminium into the bath of the reverberatory furnace at a temperature of 780.degree. to 820.degree. C. and a discontinuous manual agitation of the resulting aluminium-silicon melt (cf. I. A. Troitsky, V. A. Zheleznov, "Metallurgy of Aluminium", published 1977, "Metallurgiya" Publishing House, Moscow, p. 367; G. B. Stroganov, V. A. Rotenberg, G. B. Gershman "Alloys of Aluminium with Silicon", 1977, "Metallurgiya" Publishing House, Moscow, p. 208-211, see especially p. 210).
Also known in the art is a process for producing an aluminium-silicon alloy with a content of silicon of 2-22% which is effected in a manner similar to that of the process described hereinabove, but the agitation of the resulting aluminium-silicon melt is effected by a shaped jet of the same melt directed through a geometric center of the furnace bath into the upper part of the cone of the charged crystalline silicon (cf. USSR Inventor's Certificate No. 629429, Int. Cl..sup.2 F 27 B 17/00, Bulletin "Discoveries, Inventions, industrial Designs, Trademarks" No. 39, published Oct. 25, 1978).
A disadvantage of the prior art processes resides in that the process for the production of an aluminium-silicon alloy is conducted at elevated temperatures (780.degree.-820.degree. C.) which results in an increased content of hydrogen and aluminium oxide in the final alloy. This, in turn, impairs quality of the resulting alloy and in increased irrevocable losses of the charge materials.
The use of the above-mentioned techniques of agitation of the aluminium-silicon melt in the prior art processes causes floating of lump-like crystalline silicon to the surface and, hence, its oxidation and losses with slags.